The present invention relates to a control apparatus for controlling display of a pointer on a screen, an input apparatus, a control system, a control method, and a handheld apparatus.
Pointing devices, particularly a mouse and a touchpad, are used as controllers for GUIs widely used in PCs (Personal Computers). Not just as HIs (Human Interfaces) of PCs as in related art, the GUIs are now starting to be used as an interface for AV equipment and game devices used in living rooms etc. with, for example, televisions as image media. Various pointing devices that a user is capable of operating 3-dimensionally are proposed as controllers for the GUIs of this type (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
For example, there is disclosed a method of controlling a display position on a screen in which, when a mouse cursor is displayed at an end portion of a screen, an image including that mouse cursor is switched to an image including a virtual screen on an outer side of the screen (see, for example, Patent Document 3). Accordingly, an effect that a user can easily find the mouse cursor even when it is at the end portion of the screen can be obtained.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-56743 (paragraphs [0030] and [0031], FIG. 3)    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 3,748,483 (paragraphs [0033] and [0041], FIG. 1)    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 10-301753 (paragraph [0036], FIG. 3)
In the techniques of Patent Documents 1 to 3 above, a position of a pointing device and a position on a screen are relative to each other. Therefore, regardless of a position of a hand of a user holding the pointing device, for example, a position of a pointer on a screen is determined. However, in a case where a direction that the pointing device is pointing is deviated from a display position of the pointer, stress may be caused, the tendency of which is considered to be high for people who wish to operate the pointer as if using a laser pointer, for example.
Moreover, there is also a problem that, unless an operation is made while being conscious of a position of the pointer, it is difficult for the user to grasp where the pointer that has moved out of the screen is. Especially when a menu graphic on the screen is displayed at the end portion of the screen, although the pointer is moved to the end portion of the screen and the pointer can be moved no further when the user is pointing a range of that menu graphic, the user tries to continue moving the pointing. Therefore, the display position of the pointer and the relative position of the pointing device are deviated and the user may thus feel awkwardness.
Therefore, it is desired to provide a control apparatus, an input apparatus, a control system, a control method, and a handheld apparatus that are capable of preventing a deviation between a display position of a pointer and a relative position of the input apparatus when the input apparatus is moved out of a screen from an end portion of the screen, and with which a user can obtain an intuitional operational feeling.